Tips for AWS Professional certification exams
Practical, non-technical tips for sitting the AWS Professional certification exams, covering time management, question reading strategy, and physical endurance.
I recently took an AWS Professional exam and found certain things worth documenting and sharing. This post covers non-technical tips. For technical pointers, see the other related posts.
AWS Professional exams test not only your AWS knowledge but also your mental and physical endurance. You have to sit for three hours staring at a screen, reading lengthy questions and answer options.
Below are the things that can help.
Stretch at Regular Intervals
After every 30-45 minutes, stand up and stretch your legs, or just stretch your hands while sitting. This keeps your blood circulation moving and helps you stay alert.
Time Management
AWS Professional exams are a fight against time. Keep a constant eye on the clock ticking on the screen. As a rough guideline:
| Time Remaining | Questions Pending |
|---|---|
| 170 min | 75 |
| 110 min | 45 |
| 50 min | 15 |
| 20 min | 0 |
Try to spend about 2 minutes per question. Mark anything you are unsure about for review and move on. In the last 20 minutes, review any questions you flagged during the first pass.
Question Reading Strategy
Read what is actually being asked first. Do not start reading from the top of the question and work all the way down to the answers. Instead, scan for the key ask first.
For example, consider a question from the AWS Solutions Architect Professional exam:
Your company’s on-premises content management system has the following architecture:
- Application Tier — Java code on a JBoss application server
- Database Tier — Oracle database regularly backed up to Amazon S3 using Oracle RMAN
- Static Content — stored on a 512 GB Gateway-Stored volume attached via iSCSI
Which AWS-based disaster recovery strategy will give you the best RTO?
When you see this question, read the bold text first. This tells you what is really needed. Then go back and read the full question before evaluating the answer options.
Elimination
While reading, keep eliminating wrong answers and iterate until you reach the most suitable option. If you are stuck between two choices and cannot decide, mark the question for review, pick one of the two as your answer, and note the question number and remaining choices on the provided notepad. You can come back to it later if time permits. It is rare to have time for a full review, so always mark something in the first pass.
Water Bottle
A clear water bottle is allowed. Keep it next to you and take a sip when your brain starts to overheat mid-exam. There will be regular intervals where you feel mentally jammed and need a moment to reset.
Thank you for reading. I completed the AWS DevOps Professional and was preparing for the SA Professional at the time of writing. What are your tips for the AWS Professional exams?